Update: Micron contacted us shortly after this essay was published and has debunked a GDDR6 story. Looks like Fudzilla got this one wrong. The association is usually operative on GDDR5X that is dictated to yield poignant opening improvements to designs that are now regulating GDDR5, therefore giving complement designers a choice of delivering extended opening though dramatically altering stream architectures.

The subsequent era of striking cards will be removing a large boost in tender estimate appetite interjection to a burst to FinFET technology. However, as any fan knows, memory and bandwidth can fast turn a really unattractive bottleneck. To solve this problem, AMD and JEDEC introduced HBM 1.0 to a marketplace this year and a most some-more stretchable HBM 2.0 customary is approaching to entrance subsequent year in flagship products. But what about a center finish lineup? The answer to that (according to an disdainful news by Fudzilla), is an upcoming GDDR6 standard.

A die shot and outmost research of a Fiji die by Chipworks. @ChipWorks.

Now here is a thing, reports of a nearing GDDR6 customary have been benefaction as distant behind as 2012 (example from VR Zone here). There are also a few oddities in what Fudzilla is reporting, that we would like to indicate out here for clarity’s sake. Firstly, a source is attributing a GDDR6 customary to Micron, while in actuality GDDR is a JEDEC customary and no such corroboration for GDDR6 currently exists. This new beginning also seems somewhat confusing, given Micron is already operative on a JEDEC authorized GDDR5X customary that will offer around 2x a bandwidth of GDDR5.

GDDR5X is formed on a GDDR5 customary and essentially doubles a prefetch of a customary while preserving “most of a authority protocols of GDDR5”. What that means is that while a bandwidth has been doubled, it is not, particularly vocalization an alleviation of a GDDR5 standard, rather a new bend of a same and arguably a totally new record (contrary to what a ‘GDDR’X name competence suggest). One of the examples given is DDR3 to DDR4, that also happens to be a good estimate analogy to consider of a GDDR5 to GDDR5X jump. Unfortunately, we do not, during this indicate know what difference, if any, there is between GDDR6 and GDDR5X.

The source cited “internal sources” for a disdainful report, so it is probable that GDDR6 is indeed GDDR5X rebranded (since a come from a same company). It is also probable (not probable!) that Micron is operative on dual opposite standard, in partnership with JEDEC, namely GDDR5X and GDDR6 though that seems doubtful to me. At any rate, GDDR5 has developed from a 60nm entrance in 2007 to a most some-more neat and fit 20nm chronicle in 2015. we wouldn’t be astounded if JEDEC finally motionless to conclude a GDDR6 customary during a 20nm routine in 2016. This transition to a reduce node allows most aloft clocks and low handling voltages – something that was not probable in a early days of a standard.

In any case, a use of GDDR5X or GDDR6 stays a doubt in probability. The elementary fact of matter is that most center sequence striking cards do not need some-more bandwidth than what a complicated form of GDDR5 can already provide. And given all endangered parties have already achieved economies of scale with GDDR5 there would be really small reason to change to a code new customary such as GDDR5X/GDDR6 given HBM 2.0 will some-more than support for a high finish stuff, where bandwidth can fast turn an tangible issue.

That said, high bandwidth memory in careful wrapping (as low as 2GB HBM) will also be nearing by 2016. Companies like SK Hynix have been removing over their initial training bend and yields are removing some-more mature by a month. Soon enough, we will be means to get a low finish HBM (memory) in mobile inclination such as laptops where a appetite potency of a customary will be means to do wonders.So even in a center order, a preference of companies changeable to GDDR5X/GDDR6 stays a indeterminate tender during best.